One Arm Sufficient For Wrestler To Grab County Title

EXTRA INNINGS

Courageous Bickell Wins With Dislocated Elbow

February 20, 1991|By Gary Lambrecht

The shooting pain in his left arm was real, but for a few delirious seconds Saturday night, Danny Bickell wondered if he was living in a dream.

Bickell stood on the winner's dais, ready to accept the award for winning the 112-pound county wrestling title. His eyes were closed. His ears no doubt were soaking up the warm cheers the crowd rained on him. His heavily taped arm hung awkwardly by his body.

If Bickell was having trouble believing what he had just done -- winning a county title with a dislocated elbow that reduced him to a one-armed wrestler -- he surely had plenty of company.

Bickell's contribution to the Howard County Wrestling Tournament went beyond thepoints he scored and the inspiration he offered his victorious Oakland Mills High School team.

Bickell gave everyone lucky enough to be in Atholton High School's gym a glimpse into something more special, something more meaningful than team scores and championship trophies.

He elevated sports and the competitive spirit to a higher level. Watching Bickell shut out Hammond's Chris Williams, 3-0, in the semifinals, then come back 10 hours later with a stirring 7-2 victory over Centennial's Paul Badawi to win the title, was like watching tiredsports cliches spring to life.

We read about athletes taking risks and overcoming pain in the pursuit of goals. But how often do we get to see, up close, a Danny Bickell take the kind of chance he took, fight through the excruciating pain he felt each time an opponent grabbed his bad arm, yet somehow discover resources of emotion, poise and intelligence he probably didn't know he had? How often do we get tosee a teen-ager show these kinds of guts and reap this kind of glory?

Bickell took a scary trip into the unknown, bringing hundreds ofpeople along for the ride.

This was no cocky kid daring someone to beat him with one arm tied behind his back, although essentially that was the challenge the top-seeded Bickell issued once he decided toenter the tournament after injuring the elbow in practice Wednesday.

This was a kid exposing his vulnerability to everyone. If disaster was to occur on the mat, if the arm was to be bent into some grotesque position, if Bickell's distinguished career was to end with a painful loss by default, it would be witnessed by everyone.

And make no mistake, no one was more frightened Saturday morning before the semifinals than Bickell. "I've got one arm. I'm scared to death. It hurts. And I knew the other guy was going to be grabbing it," he said. "But I wanted to leave my senior year -- and possibly the last time I wrestle -- wrestling. I didn't want it to end on a practice mat."

The two days leading up to the tournament were a nightmare for Bickell, beginning with the moment in practice when teammate Mike Maughan threw him to the mat. Bickell landed awkwardly on his left arm. The sickening pop told the story.

"All I could do was cry," Bickell said. "I kept saying, 'I can't believe it. My season is over. I can't believe it. My season is over.' "

Coach Dan Ricker took Bickell to a doctor, who X-rayed the arm and set it in a cast that night. "The X-ray was one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen. I remember thinking 'That's not my arm,' " Bickell said. "The forearm and the biceps were no longer joined."

Bickell, his parents and Ricker spent the next two days mulling over one question -- should he wrestle? At first, Ricker and Bickell figured the best approach would be for Bickell to make weight at the tournament's Friday weigh-in. Then, since he had a first-round bye, he could pick up the team points for advancing to the semifinals, then withdraw.

But while he was feverishly working off two pounds in the weight room at Atholton Friday, Bickell made the decision to go for it. Around that same time, he made another decision. He had Ricker cut off his cast so he could make weight. Even then, tournament director Ed Boxwell considered not allowing Bickell to wrestle with the injury. After Ricker produced a doctor's noteconfirming Bickell's fitness to go, Boxwell relented.

Bickell woke up a nervous wreck Saturday morning. Ken Hovet, the coach of the Oakland Mills football team, met Ricker and the team at Oakland Mills, where Hovet taped Bickell's arm. It left his elbow looking like a softball, but secure as could be under the circumstances.

Bickell wonthe all-important semifinal over Williams -- a freshman -- by relying on the guile that got him to the tournament with a 23-2 record. He dangled the arm like bait for Williams, who lunged at it repeatedly but couldn't take him down. Williams brought tears to Bickell's eyes several times when they tied up. But Bickell, who had pinned Williams quickly in their dual meet match last month, survived to win, 3-0.

The finals promised a tougher test against the more experienced Badawi. It also was too much for Bickell's mother, who kept her head downduring the match, refusing to watch.